sermon
If we were doing the fundraising, we probably would have skipped the saints in Macedonia. person. You don t belong to yourself! Everything we own, have, and use the whole earth in all of its fullness belongs to God.
We are here for such a short time; a few brief years and then we are gone. The idea that we could own anything is preposterous. I accumulate all kinds of stuff, and then I die. Who does it belong to? You certainly can t take it with you. Naked we come into the world and naked we leave. Good stewardship says, Everything belongs to God, and it is His to do with as He wishes. My task as steward is to see that God s desires are realized.
Unusual equation
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul eagerly collects an offering to benefit believers who have been impoverished by bad harvests in Israel. He invites Christians in cities throughout the Roman Empire to contribute for the relief of those who are suffering.
Paul says, We want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability . They urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, in keeping with God s will (2 Cor 8:1-5).
Notice something really interesting here. Paul says the Macedonian Christians gave out of their extreme poverty. His very unusual formula is something like A + B = C. A stands for overflowing joy. In verse 2, overflowing joy is joined with B, extreme poverty. Now what do overflowing joy and extreme poverty produce? I like the overflowing joy part, but I would rather leave the extreme poverty part behind! But here, overflowing joy plus extreme poverty equals C, rich generosity! Isn t that interesting? They gave according to and even beyond their means. If we were doing the fundraising, we probably would have skipped the saints in Macedonia. But their overflowing joy, coupled with their extreme poverty, produced a rich generosity! And Paul identifies where it came from. He says, They did not do as we expected. Notice this: they gave themselves. They didn t just give things; they gave themselves, first to the Lord, and then to us in keeping with God s will. This is what real stewardship is all about! It is about first giving yourself to God, and secondly, to your fellow human beings to serve in the name of Jesus Christ. That s what they did! And that s why they had overflowing joy that, even out of extreme poverty, produced an overflowing wealth of generosity.
Almost, but not quite
Look at Mark 10, starting with verse 17. Here is a fellow who almost made it but not quite. As Jesus started on his way a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. The other gospels say this man was a rich young ruler, and rich young rulers don t run! They are too aware of their dignity to run. They certainly don t kneel in the dirt in front of a Galilean carpenter-turned-rabbi. But the young ruler does which tells us he is quite sincere. He really wants to find the answer to his question: Good teacher he asks, What must I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus answers: Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal Dynamic Steward
honor your father and your mother. And the young man replies: Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy. Scripture says: Jesus looked at him and loved him. He loves him for his sincerity, eagerness, and commitment. He loves him for his desire to be part of the kingdom. Jesus doesn t want to turn him away; He wants to win him. Jesus loves him and says, One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.
At this the man s face falls. He leaves sadly, for he has great wealth. Jesus says to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.
You can t do both
What is this story about? What Jesus is getting at here is the reality that you cannot be a citizen of God s kingdom and maintain dual citizenship in another kingdom. You can t put one foot in God s kingdom and one foot in the kingdom of this world and straddle that fence. Jesus says: You cannot serve both God and mammon (Mt 6:24). Mammon is the name for the god of this world. You can t serve God with all your heart, soul, and mind and reserve some piece of it to serve your worldly interests. You know you must give yourself unreservedly to God, and this is the very thing the rich young ruler is unwilling to do. He wants eternal life, he wants to know God and be God s man. That s why he runs and kneels. And that s why he asks.
But Jesus says, I love you. I want you to be God s man! I want you to be in My kingdom. So, here s what you need. You need to wholeheartedly commit yourself to the kingdom. With nothing held back! And for you, that means you must acknowledge God s ownership of everything you possess. October-December, 2003
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